Piasecki HUP Retriever
Template:Short description Template:Infobox aircraft The Piasecki HUP Retriever or H-25 Army Mule, later UH-25, is a compact single radial engine, twin overlapping tandem rotor utility helicopter developed by the Piasecki Helicopter Corporation of Morton, Pennsylvania. Designed to a United States Navy specification, the helicopter was produced from 1949 to 1954, and was also used by the United States Army and foreign navies. The HUP/H-25 was the first helicopter to be produced with an autopilot and also the first to perform a loop.
Design and development
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The design was a product of a competition by the U.S. Navy in 1945 for a compact utility/rescue helicopter to operate from ships including aircraft carriers, battleships, and cruisers.[1] Either 2[2] or 3[3][4]Template:Disputed inline prototypes—designated PV-14 by the factory and XHJP-1 by the Navy—were built and subjected to a side-by-side flight evaluation against the 3 prototypes of the Sikorsky XHJS-1; however, the XHJS was fundamentally a scaled-up version of the Sikorsky H-5, and the increased weight and size magnified the design's problems with maintaining proper weight and balance under varying loading conditions.[3] The Piasecki won the competition,[3] and with the introduction of the aircraft configuration letter "U" for Utility in the 1950s,[5] the aircraft was ordered for production as the HUP-1.[2]
The design featured two three-bladed, Template:Convert rotors in tandem in which blades could be folded for storage; the relatively small rotor diameter allowed the aircraft to use aircraft carrier elevators with its blades fully extended.[1] The tandem overlapping rotor configuration was a development by Piasecki and was used in future helicopter designs by the company and successors including the H-21, HRB-1/CH-46, and CH-47. The original HUP-1 was powered by a single Continental R-975-34 radial engine, with a take-off rating of Template:Convert, while later versions used the uprated R-975-42 or R-975-46A with Template:Convert.[2] To aid search and rescue (SAR) operations, the aircraft was equipped with an overhead winch capable of lifting 400 lb (181 kg), which could lower a rescue sling through an electrically-operated door available after the copilot's seat was folded forward.[1]
During a flight demonstration of its capability to withstand high g-force, the type became the first helicopter to perform a loop, albeit unintentionally.[1]
Operational history
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The aircraft first entered service in February 1949 with the delivery of the first of 32 HUP-1 aircraft to the US Navy.[2] The improved HUP-2 (Piasecki designation PV-18) was soon introduced with a more powerful engine, deletion of the inward-canted horizontal stabilizer endplate fins, and various minor changes in equipment; a sub-variant equipped with dunking sonar for anti-submarine warfare was given the designation HUP-2S.[2][1] The HUP-2 was the first production helicopter equipped with an autopilot.[1] The US Navy also tested a radio navigation system called Raydist that allowed an unmanned HUP-2 to be directed from a ground station and by radio ordered to hover within Template:Convert of the desired point.[6] Edo tested a HUP-2 with a fiberglass hull and outrigger floats for amphibious operations.[7]
An upgraded version of the HUP-2 was built for the US Army and designated as the H-25A Army Mule, but most were quickly withdrawn from Army service and converted for naval use under the designation HUP-3.[2][1][8]
In 1954, the Royal Canadian Navy received three former US Army H-25A aircraft, which were modified and redesignated on delivery to conform to US Navy HUP-3 standards.[8][9][10] The aircraft were used aboard HMCS Labrador for search and rescue and varied utility duties, and were later used to support construction at Distant Early Warning Line radar sites.[8][10] The helicopters were subsequently posted to NAF Patricia Bay and naval air station HMCS Shearwater; after the last two were stricken from inventory on 18 January 1964, one aircraft was donated to a technical school and the other two were sold as surplus.[8][10]
The US Army H-25 designation was adopted by the US Navy in 1962[2] on introduction of the 1962 United States Tri-Service aircraft designation system. The final units were withdrawn from US service in 1964.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". It also served with French Naval Aviation (Aeronavale) from 1953Script error: No such module "Unsubst". to 1965.[1]
A total of 339 aircraft were delivered during the 6-year production run.[1]Template:Disputed inline A large number of surplus US Navy aircraft later appeared on the US civil registry, and at least seven were transferred to the French Navy.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".
On 7 November 2009, former US Navy HUP-1, BuNo 124925,[11] civil registration number N183YP,[12] collided with high-voltage power lines in Adelanto, California; the subsequent crash and post-crash fire killed all 3 occupants and substantially damaged the aircraft.[12] Operated in association with Classic Rotors, the accident aircraft was the only airworthy example in the world.[11] The National Transportation Safety Board attributed the crash to "The pilot’s failure to maintain clearance from powerlines during en route flight."[12]
Variants
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- XHJP-1
- Prototype, powered by a Template:Convert Continental R-975-34 piston engine, equipped with large sloping endplate fins on the horizontal stabilizers. Piasecki-Vertol designation was PV-14. 2[2] or 3[3][4] produced.Template:Disputed inline
- HUP-1
- Utility transport and search and rescue helicopter for the US Navy, largely similar to XHJP-1, Piasecki designation was PV-18. 32 built.[2][1]
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- HUP-2
- Improved version, Template:Convert Continental R-975-42 piston engine, horizontal stabilizer endplate fins eliminated.[2][1] 165 built for the US Navy,[2]Template:Disputed inline 15 for French Aeronavale.Script error: No such module "Unsubst". Redesignated UH-25B in 1962.
- HUP-2S
- Anti-submarine warfare version of HUP-2 fitted with dunking sonar. 12 built.[1]
- HUP-3
- Naval utility conversion of H-25A aircraft transferred from US Army: 50 to US Navy, 3 to Royal Canadian Navy.[8]
- H-25A Army Mule
- Utility transport helicopter for US Army, similar to HUP-2 but powered by a Template:Convert Continental R-975-46A piston engine, and fitted with large doors, power-boosted controls, and strengthened floors.[2][1] 70 were delivered from 1953, but they were unsuitable for front-line use,[13] with 53 transferred to the Royal Canadian and US Navies in 1954–1955,[8] and the remaining helicopters used for training, being withdrawn from army service by 1958.[13]
- UH-25B
- HUP-2 redesignated after 1962.
- UH-25C
- HUP-3 redesignated after 1962.
Operators
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Surviving aircraft
For surviving aircraft, hyphenated numbers are original US Army Serial Numbers; six-digit numbers are original US Navy Bureau of Aeronautics (BuAer) Bureau Numbers (BuNo). All 50 H-25A/HUP-3 aircraft transferred from the US Army to the US Navy were given new bureau numbers; 3 aircraft transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy were redesignated, but retained their original US Army serial numbers.[8]
Canada
- On display
- UH-25B (HUP-2) 128529 at Shearwater Aviation Museum in Shearwater, Nova Scotia.[16] This aircraft has been restored to the appearance of 51-16621, the first Royal Canadian Navy HUP-3.[10]
- UH-25C (HUP-3), 51-16623 - Canada Aviation and Space Museum in Ottawa, Ontario.[17][18]
Netherlands
- UH-25B (HUP-2), 130076 (construction number 253) – Baris Business Park roadway roundabout in Rotterdam. This aircraft was originally used by the US Navy and was later transferred to the French Navy.[19]
United Kingdom
- UH-25C (HUP-3), 51-16622 – displayed at The Helicopter Museum in Weston-super-Mare, England, wearing Canadian markings.[8][20]
United States
- On display
- H-25A Army Mule
- 51-16616 – United States Army Aviation Museum in Fort Rucker, Alabama.[21]
- HUP-1
- 124915 – USS Hornet Museum in Alameda, California.[22]
- UH-25B (HUP-2)
- 128479 – American Helicopter Museum in West Chester, Pennsylvania.[23]
- 128517 – Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham, Pennsylvania.[24]
- 128519 – Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New York City, New York.[25]
- 128596 – Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum in San Diego, California.[26]
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- 130059 – USS Midway Museum in San Diego, California.[27]
- 130082 – on the deck of the USS Iowa Museum in San Pedro, California.[28][29]
- UH-25C (HUP-3)
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- 147595 – Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.[30]
- 147600 – Air Zoo in Kalamazoo, Michigan.[31]
- 147607 – National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida.[32]
- 147628 – Mid-America Air Museum in Liberal, Kansas.[33]
- 51-16621 – Classic Rotors in Ramona, California.[34] As of December 2019, this is the only Piasecki Helicopter-manufactured aircraft with valid FAA aircraft registration.[35] This former Royal Canadian Navy aircraft is reportedly the last HUP/H-25 capable of being restored to airworthy condition; it was exchanged in 2000 by the Canadian Museum of Flight for unflyable HUP-2 128529, which was subsequently traded again in 2002 to the Shearwater Aviation Museum and repainted as 51-16621.[10][16]
- Under restoration or in storage
- UH-25B (HUP-2)
- 128598 - Stored at New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.[36]
- 130053 – Stored at Quartzsite, Arizona.[37]
- 130063 - Stored at New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut.[36]
- UH-25C (HUP-3)
- 147610 – Yanks Air Museum in Chino, California, in storage.[38]
Specifications (HUP-2)
See also
Related development
Aircraft of comparable role, configuration, and era
References
- Notes
- Bibliography
- Bridgman, Leonard. Jane's All The World's Aircraft 1956–57. New York: The McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1956.
- Harding, Stephen. U.S. Army Aircraft Since 1947. Shrewsbury, UK:Airlife, 1990. Template:ISBN.
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External links
Template:Boeing Helicopters model numbers Template:Piasecki/Vertol aircraft Template:USAF helicopters Template:USN helicopters
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- ↑ a b Harding 1990, pp. 197–198.
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- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/51-16623." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/622 RCN." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/51-16616." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/124915." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 25 April 2017.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/128479." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/128519." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/128596." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/130059." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/130082." Daily Breeze Retrieved: 25 April 2017.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/147595." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/147607." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/147628." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.
- ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
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- ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/130053." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 15 July 2021.
- ↑ "Piasecki HUP Retriever/147610." aerialvisuals.ca Retrieved: 5 May 2016.